CERTIFIGATEWND Exclusive

Congressman won't say Obama's eligibility is settled

Michigan Republican responds to question raised at town meeting

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

“The House is controlled by the majority party being the Republicans, the Senate by the Democrats, the attorney general by the Democrats. That’s the answer. One and a half years. One and a half years. That’s when we do the do-over,” he said.

“Walbert is a notorious birther, one of the birtheriest of them all back when the issue still simmered just off the GOP front burner. In Sept. 2010, as a candidate, he told a radio show caller, ‘I don’t know, I really don’t know’ when asked if Obama was a Muslim. On another occasion, he suggested that Congress should use the threat of impeachment to force Obama to release the certificate.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich.

The commentary’s readers immediately jumped forward to accuse the congressman of racism.:

“No white president would ever have to submit his brith (sic) certificate to get these shanninigans (sic) to stop,” wrote one.

“As to date, no controlling legal authority has ever placed its stamp of approval on Obama’s right to be legitimate US president,” the blogger wrote. “The reality remains: Obama is our unconstitutional bogus (non natural born citizen) ‘president.'”

WND previously reported how Jerry W. Mansfield, an information research specialist in the Knowledge Services Group of the Congressional Research Service, issued a memo to prepare members of Congress to rebut and defuse questions constituents were asking regarding Obama’s presidential eligibility under the natural-born citizen requirement of the Constitution.

Attached to the memo was an attack-piece published by FactCheck.org to dismiss claims that Obama’s short-form Certification of Live Birth, originally published during the 2008 presidential campaign by DailyKos.com, was a forgery.

Many of the statements from members of Congress also appear to make assumptions about Obama, such as the validity of the long-form birth certificate released by the White House, even though numerous experts have concluded that it is a fake.

When Obama released that image on April 27, after years of stating that the document was not available, the Hawaii Department of Health and governor’s office refused even to confirm for WND that the image released was an accurate representation of the state’s records.

And the questions about Obama’s status continue to grow. A recent poll showed fully half the nation wants Congress to investigate his eligibility.

Instead of resolving the issue, the image that Obama released to the public on April 27 has raised new ones. For example, during an interview by NBC News’ national investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff, former Hawaii health department chief Chiyome Fukino, who has claimed to have examined the “original” documentation in the state archives, said the original document was “half typed and half handwritten.”

But the statement conflicts with the document that Obama released, which his staff members described as “proof positive” of a Hawaiian birth. Only the signatures and dates are “handwritten,” not half the document.

An extensive report from Mara Zebest, who has contributed as author or editor to dozens of books on computer software, concluded the image clearly is a fraud. She’s one among many experts in computers, imaging and documents that have called the document a fraud.

Among the statements from members of Congress:

U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock: “The Constitution is the starting point for determining eligibility to serve as president. The Constitution requires that to be eligible to serve as president an individual must be a natural born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least 14 years.” He said candidates are vetted both inside the government and out, and Obama has passed all of the hurdles.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said, “In the run-up to the 2008 federal election and in its aftermath, many Texans have written to express their thoughts and concerns about the electoral process. Some have even raised concerns about the eligibility of candidates to serve in elected office under the Constitution. The courts and the Federal Elections Commission play a central role in determining the eligibility of candidates to serve in the offices they seek. You can be certain that I will continue to be vigilant in making sure that these institutions perform their critical role in overseeing fair and transparent elections.”

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., The “Constitution of our nation requires natural born citizenship in order to serve as President of the United States of America.” But then she explains that the “Office of Vital Records within the Hawaiian Department of Health has confirmed the birth and citizenship of President Obama.” Nowhere in the letter to her constituent does she explain why the confirmation of “citizenship” equates to meeting the requirement for “natural-born citizenship.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., “I believe that President Obama has met all the requirements of citizenship as set forth by the U.S. State Department, and therefore is eligible for the office of the presidency.”

Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., said concerned citizens need to go to court over Obama’s eligibility, even though courts ranging up to the U.S. Supreme Court have refused in dozens of cases already to hear arguments on the merits of the dispute:

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.: “Thank you for your recent e-mail. Senator Obama meets the constitutional requirements for presidential office. Rumors pertaining to his citizenship status have been circulating on the Internet, and this information has been debunked by Snopes.com, which investigates the truth behind Internet rumors.”

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.: “Presidential candidates are vetted by voters at least twice – first in the
primary elections and again in the general election. President-Elect Obama
won the Democratic Party’s nomination after one of the most fiercely
contested presidential primaries in American history. And, he has now been
duly elected by the majority of voters in the United States. Throughout both
the primary and general election, concerns about Mr. Obama’s birthplace were
raised. The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the
qualifications to hold the office of president.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio: “President Obama has provided several news organizations with a copy of his
birth certificate, showing he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4,
1961. Hawaii became a state in 1959, and all individuals born in Hawaii
after its admission are considered natural-born United States citizens. In
addition, the Hawaii State Health Department recently issued a public
statement verifying the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate.”

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla.: “The claim that Barack Obama is not a citizen of the U.S. is false. This rumor is simply election year politics.” She referred questioners to Snopes for documentation.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: “The courts have held that President Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Moreover, in December 2008, the Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit challenging Mr. Obama’s eligibility to serve as president, concurring with three other federal courts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington. The courts have confirmed the determination of state officials in Hawaii that health department records prove that Barack Obama was born a U.S. citizen in Honolulu.”

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.: “President Obama demonstrated his citizenship during his campaign by circulating copies of his birth certificate, which showed he was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961.”

Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa.: “I am
confident that Mr. Obama meets all the constitutional requirements to be our 44th
president. Mr. Obama has posted a copy of his birth certificate on his campaign
website and submitted an additional copy to the independent website
FactCheck.org. The birth certificate demonstrates that he was born in Honolulu,
Hawaii in 1961, thereby making him a natural-born citizen eligible to be
president.”

U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif.: “As you know, some questions were raised about whether President Obama is a
natural born citizen. There was a recent lawsuit arguing that he is not
eligible for the Presidency for this reason. I understand that the Supreme
Court considered hearing this lawsuit, but it ultimately turned down the
request to have the case considered before the full court. I further
understand that the director of Hawaii’s Department of Health recently
confirmed that President Obama was born in Honolulu and has personally
verified that her agency has his original birth certificate on record. As
you know, the U.S. Congress certified his election on January 8, and he was
sworn into office on January 20, 2009. While I may disagree with President Obama on a multitude of issues, he has
been elected as President of the United States through a fair process and
has shown sufficient documentation, via a state birth certificate, that has
been verified as being authentic. In short, therefore, I do not believe
sufficient evidence was brought to light to conclude that President Obama
was ineligible for the office.”

U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H.: “President Obama publicly posted his
birth certificate on his campaign website which confirms that he was born in
Hawaii in 1961. This birth certificate confirms that President Obama is a
natural born citizen of the United States, above the age of 35, and is
therefore qualified to be President of the United States of America. If you
would like to view President Obama’s birth certificate, I encourage you to
go to the website http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate.”

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, “The Constitution and federal law require that, among other things, only
native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who
were both American citizens) may be President of the United States. In
President Obama’s case, some individuals have filed lawsuits in state and
federal courts alleging that he has not proven that he is an American
citizen, but each of those lawsuits have been dismissed. This includes a
recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to not review an
“application for emergency stay” filed by a New Jersey resident claiming
that the President is not a natural born citizen because his father was born
in Kenya. Furthermore, both the Director of Hawaii’s Department of Health
and the state’s Registrar of Vital Statistics recently confirmed that Mr.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 and, as such, meets the
constitutional citizenship requirements for the presidency. If contrary
documentation is produced and verified, this matter will necessarily be
resolved by the judicial branch of our government under the Constitution.”

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.: “On June 13, 2008, the Obama campaign released a copy of his birth
certificate after numerous claims were made about his eligibility to hold the office of
President. The released copy created additional questions, because it
contained a blacked out department file number and was apparently missing a seal,
and it was impossible to detect raised text, a common characteristic of
official documents. There were satisfactory answers to such questions, however: the
department file number had been blacked out to prevent hackers from breaking
into the Health Department’s system, and the State places the seal on the
back of the certificate. The website Factcheck.org investigated the matter and
provided high-resolution photos taken at multiple angles that revealed the
raised text and the seal on the back of the document. … Accordingly, it
has been concluded that President Obama has met the constitutional
qualifications to be President of the United States.”

U.S. Rep Vic Snyder, D-Ark.: “According to State of Hawai’i officials, the Hawai’i State Department of Health has President-elect Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with that state’s policies and procedures.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.: “The U.S. Constitution is our nation’s supreme law and cannot be circumvented for any reason. It is my understanding that state officials in Hawaii have attested to the validity of President Obama’s birth certificate showing that he was born in that state, which would make him a U.S. citizen. I also have read that both of Hawaii’s major newspapers ran birth announcements in August 1961 documenting President Obama’s birth in Honolulu. Based on these documents, most members of Congress from both parties appear satisfied that the president is a U.S. citizen. That would preclude any effort to remove him through the impeachment process, which requires a majority in the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate, on the basis of his constitutional eligibility for office.”

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., “As a senator representing Colorado, I want to speak very clearly on this issue. President Barack Obama is a ‘natural born’ citizen of America, and he is eligible to be our nation’s Commander in Chief. The legality of his birth certificate has been verified by numerous federal agencies, third party investigative groups, national media outlets, and primary source documentation. The United States Department of State and the Hawaii Department of Health have both verified the legality of the ‘Certification of Birth’ document provided by President Obama. In addition, highly regarded ‘fact check’ websites such as factcheck.org, snopes.com, and politifact.com support the findings of the federal agencies through their own independent investigations.”

Sen. Mark. R. Warner, D-Va., “The facts have consistently shown that President Obama was born in the United States. As a natural-born American citizen, he is fully eligible to serve as president of our country.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., “Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution specifies the qualifications for this executive office. It states that no person except for a natural born American citizen is eligible to run for President of the United States. Also, the candidate must be at least thirty-five years of age and have resided in the United States for at least fourteen years. President Obama meets these constitutional requirements. If you were not already aware, on April 27, 2011 the White House released a copy of President Obama’s long form birth certificate. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. According to the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born in the United States are considered citizens of the United States. Under these criteria, President Obama, a 47-year old U.S. citizen, who has resided in the United States for longer than fourteen years, is eligible to be President.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., “Independent and official investigations as well as legal proceedings have validated President Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States. The Health Director and Head of Vital Statistics for the state of Hawaii (an official source) has also examined and declared the authenticity of the birth certificate and most recently President Obama released his full birth certificate. If change is to take place it’s likely to come in the form of an election. This is part of the reason everyone needs to make sure we vote for the people who will represent our views correctly. This is also why we must continue to talk to our friends and relatives in other states about their own elected officials and encourage them to let their voices be heard.”

There have been a few who have expressed concern over the situation:

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., in a posting on Canada Free Press by Dean Haskins, “I believe that there should be a more formal process of review and validation as a matter of routine certification of candidates. The office of the presidency is undermined if Americans don’t have confidence that the candidates for the highest office in the land are qualified for the position as required by the Constitution. … “

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, “Many of the issues, like the birth certificate, are within the jurisdiction of the courts, not Congress. Our power over the president is impeachment for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’ We learned from Clinton that lying, even under oath, probably doesn’t rise to those standards … so I’m looking for the crime. Perhaps his violation of the war powers act? It’s something my colleagues and I are considering.”